Google may launch a Pixel 9 Pro Fold as part of a newly expanded and renamed Pixel 9 series.
Anyone expecting Google to launch the Pixel Fold 2 at Google I/O on May 14 should probably hold their horses. There could be a big twist in the tale.
Android Authority claims to have learned that Google will launch its next foldable as a fourth Pixel 9 device this autumn. It could form part of a wider series rejig.
Alongside the Pixel 9, a new smaller take on the Pixel 9 Pro, and a Pixel 9 Pro XL (essentially occupying the old Pro slot in the roster), it’s said that there’ll be an all new Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
The new foldable is apparently being referred to internally by the codename ‘Comet’. Tellingly, this was previously the name assigned to the Pixel Fold 2 project. What this suggests is that the successor to the original Pixel Fold is still in the works – it’s just going to launch about six months later under a new name.
It seems Google is opting to eschew the Samsung way of doing thinks – alternating foldable and non-foldable flagships on a six monthly cadence – and will simply expand its end-of-year Pixel release with a premium foldable option.
If that Pixel 9 Pro Fold name sounds as awkward to you as it does to us, there’s a chance it’ll change. Google is using this name right now, but it’s apparently not set in stone.
Interestingly, this would tie in nicely with a previous rumour that didn’t quite seem to make sense at the time. Back in February we reported on claims that the Pixel Fold 2 would run on the same Tensor G4 chip that’s bound for the forthcoming Pixel 9 series.
This wouldn’t have made sense if Google was still gunning for a mid-year launch, prompting speculation that the company may delay its next foldable’s launch until the end of the year. It’s all starting to add up now.